Category Archives: European Union

This is in the Top 4 items of the Lisbon Treaty At A Glance document on the Europa Website (link below). Is this what anyone in the UK voted for? Anyway enough with the prelude, what does this really mean for any of us?

It gives the EU itself the power to negotiate, implement trade agreements and treaties with other countries. Many people may have heard about the TTIP (Trans Atlantic Trade & Investment Partnership) well you have no say over this now. As of 1st December 2014 the EU has the legal right under the Lisbon Treaty to negotiate investment & trade on behalf of the EU states without any permissions from any state.

The EU basically becomes a Limited Company & thus has all the rights, obligations, freedom to contract with anyone anywhere because it is a Legal Personality. So they can decide who to contract with, what for, how long & at what cost.

Questions arise from this include;

1) will the EU make contractual arrangements that are in the best interests of the people in the member states?

2) will they always ensure fair trading & allow tenders from around the world for any items/services they wish to procure?

3) how many new employees will the EU need to employ in order to facilitate this single trading arm?

4) will the EU be bound to purchase the best product at the best price?

5) who will monitor the EU procurement to ensure it is getting the best deal for the people of the EU?

This brings about for all intents & purposes EU PLC – it can do anything any other company can do. Some of us may not like what they do, do we have a right to challenge any contract?

Sort of is the answer, if 1million people throughout the EU get together to force a debate on any policy, trade agreement etc then they might get heard!!!

So basically this Treaty has signed away much of our rights to organise any free trade or other trade with any country.

The EU is now the all powerful behemoth which has now taken over our countries. “the EU is therefore able to speak and take action as a single entity”!

We have no way of changing this, we cannot veto anything. Our only choice now is to invoke article 50 and get out.

The EU is not run on the lines of a commercial entity. It hasn’t had its accounts audited & signed off for 19 years. So the EU PLC would have been shut down!

So folks we are essentially a small part of a company; our shares do not give us enough voting rights, will not allow us to rescind any contract negotiated by the EU, even if it is a bad deal for the UK.

UKIP: Introduce an Australian-style points policy, used to select migrants with the skills and attributes needed to work in the country – covering people from inside and outside the EU. Bring net immigration down to 50,000 people a year. Priority lanes for UK passport holders. Increase UK border staff by 2,500. Tougher English language tests for migrants seeking permanent residence. Opt out of the Dublin treaty to allow the UK to return asylum seekers to other EU countries without considering their claim.

Tax & Economy

UKIP: Increase the personal allowance to the level of full-time minimum wage earnings, about £13,500, by 2020. Abolish inheritance tax. Introduce a 35% income tax rate between £42,285 and £55,000, at which point the 40% rate becomes payable. Set up a Treasury Commission to design a turnover tax on large businesses. Cut foreign aid budget by £9bn a year. Scrap HS2. Save £8bn a year in membership fees by leaving the EU.

NHS

UKIP: Ensure all migrants and visitors have NHS approved medical insurance as a condition of entry to UK, with £200m of the £2bn saved to be spent on ending hospital parking charges in England. Tougher regulation of NHS managers. Bring back state-enrolled nurses and return powers to matrons. Monitor and Care Quality Commission to be replaced with county health boards. Stop spending £90m a year on gastric band and breast enhancement operations.

Defence

UKIP: Leave the European Union. Remove the passports of any person who has gone to fight for a terrorist organisation and deport anyone who has committed a terrorist act. Cut foreign aid budget by £9bn. Create a Veterans Department to look after the interests of ex-service men and women.

Jobs

UKIP: Allow firms to offer jobs to British workers first “without the fear of being sued for discrimination”.

Education

UKIP: More grammar schools. Scrap sex education for children aged under seven. Scrap tuition fees for students from poorer backgrounds who take degree courses in the sciences, technology, maths or engineering. Greater emphasis on vocational education with new Apprenticeship Qualification Option. School governing boards must be made up of at least 30% parents of children at the school. Allow universities to charge same amount for EU students as non-EU students.

Housing

UKIP: Protect greenbelt land by incentivising the building of affordable homes on brownfield sites. Establish a UK Brownfield Agency to hand out grants, tax breaks and low interest loans. Major planning decisions to be ratified by local referendum.

Law & Order

UKIP: Repeal Human Rights Act and replace it with UK Bill of Rights. Withdraw from European arrest warrant. No votes for prisoners. Those responsible for criminal damage forced to carry out unpaid work in area where it was committed. Those jailed for offences affecting their community should be banned from returning to live in the area, as a condition of their release. “Complete overhaul” of police taking into account “best practice from other countries”.

Benefits & Poverty

UKIP: Only pay child benefit for the first two children for new claimants. Increase the Carers’ Allowance to the same level as Jobseekers’ Allowance (JSA) and pay a higher rate of JSA if you’ve been in work and already made tax and National Insurance contributions. Prevent anyone taking up permanent residence in Britain unless they’re able to support themselves and any dependents they bring with them for at least five years and stop them receiving benefits. Stop paying child benefit for children who don’t live in Britain. Scrap what UKIP calls the “detested bedroom tax”. Boost “credit unions”.